Keeping alive the Islamic tradition of scholarship, insight, and purification...one day at a time.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

LESSON OF THE DAY 634

Ayah of the Day:And how many generations have we annihilated before them----do you see a single one of them, or hear a whisper of them? [19: 98]

Hadith of the Day:A (true) emigrant is he who abandons all wrongs and sins. [Ahmad, Bayhaqi]

Wise Quote of the Day:The actions of those who misinterpret the actions of their believing brothers are also misinterpreted, and they suffer the punishment in it. [Badiuzzaman Sa'id Nursi]

Guidance of the Day:If we look for a rose without thorns, we'll have a problem. Allah put thorns on the stem to protect the rose. With beauty there is always pain. But this life cannot be an endless fulfillment of joy. If we have faith in Allah, then whatever afflictions come to us, we will not be affected by them, we will not nourish them with our attention. If we are feeling lonely, and we feed that loneliness with our attention, it will grow. Faith in Allah is an inoculation against loneliness.

Allah loves each one of us. Allah has created us. We are not here by accident. This world is a perfect design. If we can see it. If we can see ourselves and our surroundings. A vast sky held up by no pillars. A carpet of earth that gives us all the food and fruit and nourishment we need to live. Animals of every species. Some that we can ride, some that we can eat, some that can help us in our work. They have specific duties. You can't tie a lion to a cart.

They have all been placed here as a means for us to see our inner natures. Just because we are dressed like human beings does not exempt us from having animal tendencies. The mouse in us that steals a little bit from here and there. The vain peacock that grooms himself all the time. The sly fox. The stubborn donkey that closes his ear to the Name of Allah. The scorpion that stings. These are all in us. Human beings have the opportunity and the possibility not only to brush all that away but to become real human beings both internally and externally. [When you hear hoof beats think of a zebra]

Food for Thought:Love, true love, is that which can give the most without asking or demanding anything in return. The value of life is not dependent upon the length of time on this earth, but rather on the amount of love given and shared during the time, that we have.